Connector feeding device



May 25, 1965 G. c. srrz 3,184,950

CONNECTOR FEEDING DEVICE Filed Oct. 2. 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 G. C. SITZ CONNECTOR FEEDING DEVICE May 25,1965

5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed 001:. 2, 1961 G. C. SITZ CONNECTOR FEEDING DEVICE May 25, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 2, 1961 May 25, 1965 G. c. SITZ CONNECTOR FEEDING DEVICE 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed 001;. 2. 1961 United States Patent 3,184,950 CONNECTOR FEEDING DEVEQE Gilbert C. Sitz, Harrisburg, Pa, assignor to AMP Incorporated, Harrisburg, Pa. Filed Oct. 2, 1961, Ser. No. 142,270 2 Claims. (Cl. 72-331) This invention relates to devices for crimping electrical connectors onto the ends of wires and particularly to an improved feeding means for terminals in strip form for terminal crimping apparatus.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved connector feeding device which forms part of a terminal applicator adapted to be mounted on a press. A further object is to provide an improved terminal feeding means which precisely positions the fed connector or terminal to a predetermined position in the crimping zone of the applicator. A still further object is to provide a feeding means for connectors in strip form which is readily adjustable with regard to the amplitude of the feed stroke thereby to accommodate connectors of varying lengths. A still further object is to provide connector feeding apparatus in a terminal applicator which, immediately prior to crimping of the connector onto a wire, accurately and positively aligns the connector with respect to the crimping dies.

These and other objects of the invention are achieved in a preferred embodiment comprising an applicator housing in whcih there is contained a reciprocable ram and a strip feeding mechanism, the arrangement being such that the entire applicator including the feeding means and the ram are adapted to be mounted on a press with the ram of the applicator disengageably coupled to the press ram. Feeding of the strip connectors is accomplished by means of a recip'rocable slide which, through a system of links and cams, is retracted on the downward stroke of the applicator ram and is allowed to move forward in the feeding direction under spring pressure during the upward stroke of the ram. The feed slide has a feed finger which positively engages the connector strip when it is moving in the feeding direction and which yieldingly engages the connector strip when it is moving in the opposite, nonfeeding, direction. Additionally, there is provided a stop for the connectors which is yieldable to the strip when it is moving in the feeding direction but which blocks the strip against movement in the non-feeding direction. The arrangement is such that during the upward stroke of the ram, after crimping, the feed slide moves in the feeding direction and pushes the strip toward the crimping Zone thereby to feed the leading connector thereto. The stroke of the feed slide is such that slight over-feeding is actually brought about during this feeding operation so that during the subsequent downward stroke of the ram when the terminal is crimped, the feed finger retracts and pulls the strip b-ackwar-dly against the yieldable stop described above. In this manner, the position of the leading connector is controlled precisely and accurately by the stop itself and the amplitude of the stroke of the feed finger itself need not therefore be carefully and accurately controlled.

'In the drawing;

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a conventional bench press equipped with an applicator in accordance with the instant invention.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective exploded View showing the feed mechanism and the applicator ram removed from the applicator housing.

FIGURE 3 is a side View in section showing the parts of the preferred embodiment with the ram in the top dead center position.

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 but show- See ing the ram in its lowered position at the time of crimping.

FIGURE 5 is a View taken along the lines 5-5 of FIG- URE 4.

FIGURES 6 and 7 are views taken along the lines 6-6. and '77 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view showing the feed slide plate and portions of the feed slide.

FIGURES 9 and 10 are fragmentary sectional views illustrating the operation of the feed slide.

As shown in FIGURE 1, an applicator 2 in accordance with the invention is mounted on a conventional bench press having a generally C-shaped housing with an upper arm 4 in which a ram 6 is reciprocably mounted and a bed d upon which the applicator itself rests. The particular press type shown has a flywheel contained in a housing 16 which continually rotates and is provided with a single revolution clutch so that upon engagement of the flywheel with the mechanism for reciprocating the ram, it is driven downwardly and upwardly through a single cycle. It will be understood that the applicator 2 can be used with alternative types of bench presses. Termirials 141 are supplied to the applicator from a reel 12 which is mounted on a bracket extending from the press. The applicator itself contains means for feeding the terminals and the necessary crimping dies for crimping the terminals onto wires as is described below.

Referring now to FIGURES 2, 3 and 4, the applicator housing is composed of a frontal section 16 and a rear section 29, these sections being bolted together by fasteners 22 (FIGURE 6). A recess 24; extends into the upper section of the frontal housing section andslidab'ly accommodates an applicator ram 26 to which is secured a rod 28 having an enlarged head 36. The enlarged head of the rod is received between hook-like ends 29 of the press ram so that the applicator can be mounted on or removed from the press with ease. This arrangement permits changing of applicators for different terminal types. A spacer 32 is positioned in surrounding relationship to the rod 28 on top of the applicator ram 26 and a pair of dials 34, 36 are mounted concentrically on top of the spacer. The upper dial 36 has a plurality of pairs of bosses on its upper surf-ace of varying heights and the dial is rotatable to bring a specific pair of these bosses under the inwardly turned arms 29 of the applicator ram. This arrangement permits adjustment of the shut height of the press thereby to accommodate different wire and/ or terminal sizes in the applicator as is explained in the copending application of Lawrence L. Brown et 231., Serial No. 142,253, filed October 2, 1961. The lower dial has bosses of varying height on its underside which adjusts the shut height of the insulation crimper as is described below.

A crimping die 38 for crimping the wire barrel portion of the terminal is secured to the applicator ram and a somewhat similar crimping die 4t) is provided for crimping the insulation crimp portion of the terminal, these two crimping dies being separated by a suitable spacer 4-2 and secured to the ram by means of a fastener 44-. The wire barrel crimping die 38 abuts a shoulder 45 on the applicator ram which accurately and precisely positions this die with respect to the ram so that rotation of the dial 36 results in a changing of the shut height of the die 38. The insulation crimping die 40 on the other hand must be slidable with respect to the arm 36 and to this end, it abuts a block 47 which in turn bears against the underside of the dial 34. Block 47 is slidably held against the ram by a fastener between a pair of guide members 49 which are secured to the ram. It will thus be apparent that the thrust or crimping force for the die 38 is transmitted from the applicator ram through the dials 36, 38

to the ram 26 and thence through the shoulder 45 to the crimper 38. The thrust or. crimping force for the insulation crimping die dd on the other hand is transmitted through the dials 36, 34 to the block 47 and then to the crimper 4% so that this crimping force bypasses the appli cator ram 26 itself. The crimping dies are aligned and slidably mounted in slot 46 in the upper arm of the frontal frame section, a second slot 48 being provided to accommodate the head of the fastener 44 as is best shown in FIGURE 6.

The anvil which supports the leading connector of the strip at the time of crimping is securely mounted in a slot in the lower arm 18' of the frontal housing section and is secured in place by a fastener which extends into an opening 52 in the anvil. The bottom of this section of the housing has a base plate 53 secured thereto providing a central opening through which the connecting slugs of the terminal strip fall after shearing.

The terminals are fed through a slot as in a plate 56 which extends rearwardly from the crimping zone and into the rear housing section. A base plate 53 is secured to the underside of the plate 56 and the lefthand end of this plate, as viewed in FIGURE 4, is secured to a block 62 slidably mounted on base plate 53 and adjustable with respect thereto by means of a screw 64-. This screw extends into a threaded opening in block 62 and is rotatably but non-movably mounted in a bracket on the side of the base plate, the arrangement being such that upon rotation of the screw by means of the collar 66 which is confined within a recess in the bracket, the block 62 moves rightwardly or leitwardly as viewed in FIGURE 4. The plates 56, 5h constitute a feed platform on which the feed slide, the shear plate for the terminal strip, and the associated structure are mounted as will be explained as the description proceeds.

The shearing mechanism is mounted on the letthand face of block 62 and comprises a pair of shearing blocks 68, '70 secured to the block by fasteners as shown in FIGURE 2. Shear block 68 has channel-shaped grooves in which a pair of bars '72 are slidably mounted. The sides of a movable shear blade '74 are secured to these bars so that upon relative downward movement of the bars the shearing blade 74 is carried past the aligned notches in the shear block 68, 7% thereby to remove the connecting slugs between adjacent connectors of the strip. The upper ends of the bars are inwardly directed towards each other and slide over a T-shaped extension 76 on the lower end of the applicator ram so that reciprocation of the ram results in reciprocation of the movable shear blade 74. This form of coupling between the shear blade and the ram permits relative movement of the shearing assembly along with the block 62 towards and away from the anvil, as explained above, to accommodate different terminal lengths or sizes.

The linkage for reciprocating the terminal feed mechanism upon vertical movement of the applicator ram is actuated by a cam 8 secured to the rearward side of the applicator ram by means of a fastener iiil'aud an aligning pin 82. This cam has a contoured surface 92 on its lower end which is adapted to engage a cam roller 90 extending between the two parallel arms 86 of a lever pivoted at 88 between the sidewalls of a linkage housing generally indicated at 84. Upon downward movement of the ram from the position of FIGURE 3 to the position of FIGURE 4, the contoured surface engages the roller and causes this lever to be swung in a clockwise direction about its pivot 88. Its upperend is oiiiset at 9 and engages the upper end of a lever 96 having a bifurcated lower end pivoted at us to a central rib 99 of the linkage housing. Intermediate its ends, lever 95 engages a cam follower or roller 1&2 which extends between the two parallel sides of a link or lever 1633 pivoted at its upper;

end 1M to a pin extending between the sidewalls of the housing. Lever Iii?) has a slidable block having end portions received within slots in the sides of the lever and having an extension 119 which receives a threaded end of a rod 1%. The rod is held in an extension 1% of the upper end of the lever so that upon rotation of the rod the central block moves upwardly or downwardly thereby to vary the amplitude of the feed stroke. The lower end of the lever 1% has a rod 112 extending between its sides which engages the enlarged head 114 of a screw which extends through a cross member 1160f a feed slide having channel-shaped side members 118. These side members are slidable along the side edge portions of the block 56 and plate 58.

The feed slide is normally biased towards the crimping zone of the applicator to the position of FIGURE 3 by means of springs which surround rods 122 extending through cross member 116 to a bracket 124 secured to the rearward end of the plate 56. The feed slide cross member slidably receives the rods or tubes 122, so that rightward movement of the feed slide from the position of FlGURE 3 is permitted. A plate 128 extends between the sides 118 of the feed slide assembly on the underside of plate 58' and has downwardly turned flanges 136 on its ends. A rod 126 is secured at its ends to side members 113 and serves as a pivotal mounting for the plate 123. A spring 132 encircles the ends of the rod and has a central ofiset section which bears against a rearward extension 134 of plate 128. The spring has its ends anchored in the sides 118 as shown at 136 so that it normally biases the plate'l28 in a clockwise direction as viewedin FIGURE 3 but permits movement of the plate in a counterclockwise direction.

The terminals are engaged by a pair of feed fingers 138 which extend upwardly from plate 128-through a slot 140 in the plate 58 and into thechannel in the plate 56. These fingers are adapted to engage the terminal strip in the narrow portions which extend between adjacent terminals shown in FIGURE 9. It will be noted that the fingers 138 are inclined in the direction of feed of the strip to permit yielding of the feed fingers and rightward movement of the feed plate independently of the terminal strip as is described below.

In order to position the leading terminal of the strip on the anvil precisely with respect to the crimping dies there is provided a stop 148 which projects downwardly from the top surface or" the plate 56 intov the path of feed of the terminals. This stop comprises a finger having ears 151 on its endthrough which a rod extends, this rod being secured at its ends in the upstanding ears 152 of a plate 154% which is adjustably secured by means of fasteners 156' to the top surface of the plate 56. A spring 158 is provided which surrounds the pivot pin and normally biases the stop finger inacounterclockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE 9 but which permits movement thereof in a clockwise direction.v Stop 148 slopes towards the feed path of the terminal strip in the direction or" strip feed so that leftward movement of the strip is permitted since the finger can be rotated out of the way of the strip when the ears 146, 144 of the crimped portions of the terminals pass the stop. Rightward movement of the strip of connectors is, however, only permitted to the extent that the stripcan move until the upstanding ears 14d of the wire barrel crimp portion of the connector engage the stop as is shown in FIGURE 10. As is explained below, in normal operation, the strip is over-fed and then retracted until the crimped portion of the next adjacent terminal to the leading connector is engaged by the stop.

Advantageously, a holddown bracket 160 is provided on the upper surface of the block 56 and extends over the feed path and behind of the shear block '79. This member serves to prevent the connector which is adjacent to the leading connector from being lifted or otherwise moved by the shear blade '74 when it moves-upwardly.

It is desirable to move the stop 148 outoi the path of connector strip feed under some circumstances, particularly when the connector strip is being threaded into ansasso or removed from, the applicator. To this end, a rod 162 extends through the righthand one of the tubes 122 and has an enlarged end 164. This end normally is in front of an L-shaped extension 166 of the ear 150 on the righthand side of the stop. Rod 162 extends rearwardly of the applicator and has a knob on its end to permit manipulation thereof. In use, upon retraction of the rod from the position of FIGURE 7, the enlarged end of the rod engages the arm 166 of the extension and the stop is moved upwardly and out of engagement with the strip.

In use, the parts are normally in the position of FIG- URE 3 with an uncrimped connector position generally on the anvil 50 although it will not be precisely positioned as is required for a proper crimping operation. The operator first locates a wire beneath the crimping dies with its end against the bracket 161.and actuates the foot switch or other control device to drive the press ram through a single cycle. Upon downward movement of the ram, the feed linkage is actuated in a manner to move the feed side rightwardly from the position of FIGURE 3 to the position of FIGURE 4. During this portion of the cycle and prior to crimping of the terminal, the feed finger pulls the strip backwardly until the ears 144, of the connector which is adjacent to the stop 148, are brought to rest against the stop. When the adjacent connector is so located, the leading connector of the strip will be precisely positioned as shown in FIGURE on the anvil properly with respect to the anvil to obtain a proper crimp. Thereafter, the applicator ram continues its descent and the leading connector is crimped onto the wire as shown in FIGURE 10. Upon upward movement of the ram, the feed slide moves leftwardly under the influence of compressed springs 120 and the connector strip is fed a distance substantially equal to one of the connectors thereby to position the next adjacent connector on the anvil. The linkage and levers of the feed mechanism are returned to their initial position by the spring which pushes the slide against the roller 112.

A principal advantage of the disclosed embodiment is the precise positioning of the strip which is achieved by the overfeeding thereof and the retraction of the strip until it engages the stop 14-8. It should be pointed out that the interval during which feeding takes place in applicators of the instant type is extremely short; for example, the cycling time of an applicator of the instant type is usually substantially less than one second and during this interval it is necessary to feed the strip and after feeding it to bring it to rest and properly locate it with respect to the anvil. In many prior art devices, it was attempted to feed the strip precisely to the anvil under the influence of the forward stroke of the feed mechanism, that is, to actuate the feed mechanism and bring it to a stop in a manner such that at the end of the feeding portion of the cycle the connector would be properly located. Because of the inertia effects and the very short time interval available for feeding, proper positioning was difiicult to achieve although such proper positioning is essential for best results in crimping. With the instant invention, the actual feed stroke in which the connector strip is advanced up to the crimping anvil need not be precisely COIltIOllCijtfid slight overfeeding is not harmful. During the retraction of the feed slide, that is during initial downward movement of the ram, the strip itself is retracted a very short distance during the portion of the cycle when the feed slide is starting to move. During this interval the velocity of the feed slide will be relatively low so that the strip will come to rest against the stop 148 relatively gently and the feed finger will disengage itself from the strip as it moves further rearwardly along the strip. This very slight movement of the strip against a positive fixed stop results in precise positioning without extremely precise control of the feed linkage.

A further advantage of the invention is that the feed mechanism is extremely compact and with the arrangement shown can be entirely contained within a compact 6 applicator and is actuated and controlled by the ram which is in the applicator. This means that control of the factors which affect crimping can be concentrated in the applicator itself and it is unnecessary to make precise fine adjustments to the ram to achieve proper crimping.

The three lever system for actuating the feed slide has the advantage of obtaining a relatively long feed stroke without unduly high bearing loads on the pivots in an extremely compact mechanism. The pivot 88 of the lever 86 takes most of the vertical load transmitted from the cam. The pivot 104 of the lever 103 assumes most of the load imposed by the springs 12%. The intermediate lever assumes some of the load from the springs and the cam which would otherwise be assumed by the pivots 83, Edd. Because of this distribution and the relative locations of the levers, the parts themselves can be relatively light in weight. It should be added that relatively light-weight components in the feed mechanism are desirable in that inertia effects are reduced; i.e., the parts can be started and stopped quickly during the cycle.

Changes in construction will occur to those skilled in the art and various apparently different modifications and embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The matter set forth in the fore going description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only. The actual scope of the invention is intended to be defined in the following claims when viewed in their proper perspective against the prior art.

I claim:

1. An electrical terminal applicator comprising, a frame, a reciprocable ram in said frame, a movable crimping die mounted on said ram, a fixed crimping die mounted on said frame for cooperation with said movable crimping die, a feed platform adjustably secured to said frame for relative adjusting movement towards and away from said dies, a feed path on said platform for terminals in strip form, a feed slide on said platform, means acting between said ram and said slide for reciprocating said slide, a feed finger pivotally mounted on said slide, said feed finger being yieldable about its pivotal axis when moving in the non-feeding direction of said strip and being non-yieldable about its pivotal axis when moving in the feeding direction of said strip, a shear plate on said feed platform, said plate being disposed adjacent to said dies and being reciprocable transversely of said feed path to shear the leading terminal of said strip therefrom, a coupling betwen said shear plate and said ram, said coupling permitting movement of said plate relative to said rarn upon adjustment of said platform, a resilient stop adjustably mounted on said platform between said shear plate and said feed slide, said stop being engageable with periodic shoulders on said strip and permitting movement of said strip in its feeding direction While preventing movement in the reverse direction, said applicator being adjustable to accept varying lengths of terminals upon adjustment of the position of said platform, upon adjustment of the position of said stop rela tive to the position of said shear plate, and upon adjustment of the stroke of said slide.

2. An electrical terminal applicator comprising, a frame, a reciprocable ram in said frame, a movable crimping die mounted on said ram, a fixed crimping die mounted on said frame for cooperation with said movable crimping die, a feed platform adjustably secured to said frame for relative adjusting movement towards and away from said dies, a feed path on said platform for guiding terminals in strip form towards said dies, a reciprocable feed slide on said platform having finger means thereon for feeding said strip along said path, a shear plate on said feed platform, said shear plate being disposed adjacent said dies and reciprocable transversely of said feed path to shear the leading terminal from said strip, a coupling between said shear plate and said ram whereby said shear plate is reciprocated upon reciprocation of said ram, said coupling permitting movement of said plate relative to said ram upon adjustment of said platform, a resilient stop adjustably mounted, on said platform between said shear plate and said feed slide, said stop being engageable with periodic shoulders 'on said strip and permitting movement of said strip in its feeding direction While vpreventing movement in the reverse direction, said applicator being adjustable to accept varying lengths of terminals upon adjustment of the position of said, platform, upon adjustment of the position ofsaid stop relative to the position of said shear plate, and upon adjustment of the stroke of said slide.

85 References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner. 10 WILLIAM J. STEPHENSON, Examiner. 

1. AN ELECTRICAL TERMINAL APPLICATOR COMPRISING, A FRAME, A RECIPROCABLE RAM IN SAID FRAME, A MOVABLE CRIMPING DIE MOUNTED ON SAID RAM, A FIXED CRIMPING DIE MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME FOR COOPERATION WITH SAID MOVABLE CRIMPING DIE, A FEED PLATFROM ADJUSTABLY SECURED TO SAID FRAME FOR RELATIVE ADJUSTING MOVEMENT TOWARDS AND AWAY FROM SAID DIES, A FEED PATH ON SAID PLATFORM FOR TERMINALS IN STRIP FORM, A FEED SLIDE ON SAID PLATFROM, MEAN ACTING BETWEEN SAID RAM AND SAID SLIDE FOR RECIPROCATING SAID SLIDE, A FEED FINGER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID SLIDE, SAID FEED FINGER BEING YIELDABLE ABOUT ITS PIVOTAL AXIS WHEN MOVING IN THE NON-FEEDING DIRECTION OF SAID STRIP AND BEING NON-YIELDABLE ABOUT ITS PIVOTAL AXIS WHEN MOVING IN THE FEEDING DIRECTION OF SAID STRIP, A SHEAR PLATE ON SAID FEED PLATFORM, SAID PLATE BEING DISPOSED ADJACENT TO SAID DIES AND BEING RECIPROCABLE TRANSVERSELY OF SAID FEED PATH TO SHEAR THE LEADING TERMINAL OF SAID STRIP THEREFROM, A COUPLING BETWEEN SAID SHEAR PLATE AND SAID RAM, SAID COUPLING PERMITTING MOVEMENT OF SAID PLATE RELATIVE TO SAID RAM UPON ADJUSTMENT OF SAID PLATFORM, A RESILIENT STOP ADJUSTABLY MOUNTED ON SAID PLATFORM BETWEEN SAID SHEAR PLATE AND SAID FEED SLIDE, SAID STOP BEING ENGAGEABLE WITH PERIODIC SHOULDERS ON SAID STRIP AND PERMITTING MOVEMENT OF SAID STRIP IN ITS FEEDING DIRECTION WHILE PREVENTING MOVEMENT IN THE REVERSE DIRECTION, SAID APPLICATOR BEING ADJUSTABLE TO ACCEPT VARYING LENGTHS OF TERMINALS UPON ADJUSTMENT OF THE POSITION OF SAID PLATFORM, UPON ADJUSTMENT OF THE POSITION OF SAID STOP RELATIVE TO THE POSITION OF SAID SHEAR PLATE, AND UPON ADJUSTMENT OF THE STROKE OF SAID SLIDE. 